QUARRY QUERY ROCKS MAYOR

Antonio defends actions

THOUSANDS of people yesterday watched an eight-minute ABC interview with Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio in which he confirmed he personally paid for an alternative route for the Inland Rail line to be investigated.

The proposed route ran adjacent to a quarry owned by Cr Antonio.

Council yesterday went to lengths to distance itself from the controversy.■

THE FALLOUT from an ABC interview with Mayor Paul Antonio over Inland Rail routes rippled through the region yesterday, with Toowoomba Regional Council distancing itself from Cr Antonio’s comments and thousands viewing the eight-minute clip online.

In the interview with the ABC’s Dominique Schwartz, Cr Antonio, who owns a quarry near Millmerran, said he paid $4900 to have engineers investigate an alternative route for the Inland Rail line that ran adjacent to his land.

One farmer said Cr Antonio stood to make millions of dollars from the route as basalt from the quarry could be used to supply ballast for the railway line as it crossed the Condamine flood plain.

Cr Antonio, however, argued that profits from the quarry did not depend on the Inland Rail route running close to his property.

“Regardless of where that rail line goes, over the next 100 years that basalt on my hill will be used,” he said.

Cr Antonio said he paid for the map to find an alternative that did not go through prime agricultural land in Millmerran, to help affected farmers.

After initially telling the ABC he gave the map to one Millmerran farmer, he later conceded he provided the map to former industry minister Ian Macfarlane.

Ms Schwartz asked Cr Antonio if his actions amounted to lobbying but was told: “Ian’s a friend of mine and he has some influence in terms of protection of good agricultural land.”

Ms Schwartz also questioned Cr Antonio about a text message he sent on September 11 to Millmerran farmer Russell Stevens which read: “Macfarlane said he had been talking to the powers that be and they liked the option. Enormous advantage.”

She also asked Cr Antonio if he maintained he had done nothing wrong by not informing Toowoomba Regional Council about his decision to personally investigate another Inland Rail route option.

Cr Antonio reiterated he acted out of concern for established farming families.

Yesterday Cr Antonio repeated his comments, telling The Chronicle: “Yes, I paid for it, and I did so because of the highly productive farming land that’s important for the local economy.”

Deputy Mayor Carol Taylor declined to comment on the interview, describing it as a personal matter for Cr Antonio.

Toowoomba Regional Council Chief Executive Officer Brian Pidgeon yesterday afternoon issued a statement that read:

“The Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Project is an initiative of the Commonwealth Government and therefore decisions about the route and construction of the inland rail project are the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government.

“The Mayor has recently disclosed that he personally funded the development of a concept for an alternate route for the inland rail project in an attempt to protect high quality agricultural land south of Millmerran.

“Council’s decision on 16 November 2016 is the only Council decision in relation to the Inland Rail Project to date.”

Many comments online have been supportive of the Mayor’s actions and charged the ABC interviewer with taking an accusatory tone.

“I think its important to ask a politician these questions but the accusing tone of voice is unnecessary. Our mayor doesn’t deserve to be treated this way,” commented Facebook user Rosa Ines Hochbaum Rother.

Jessica Hanson agreed: “Well I got two things from this interview, 1) Paul has listened to a ratepayer’s concerns and is using his community connections and common sense to help find a better solution and 2) The Inland Rail is not the only potential customer for his gravel, it could also help build roads, be used for landscaping etc. So whether he sells the gravel to the Inland Rail now or down the track elsewhere, his asset has the same value regardless.”

Thousands more have viewed the video but not voiced their support for Cr Antonio.

Cr Antonio’s proposed diversion is not part of the route announced by the Federal Government this week.

The Inland Rail line will cross the Condamine flood plain and continue past Brookstead and Pittsworth before it links to the Toowoomba Enterprise Hub at Gowrie.

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Yes, I paid for it, and I did so because of the highly productive farming land that’s important for the local economy.

— Paul Antonio